Yesterday, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-31) met with students at the San Bernardino Valley College Dreamers Resource Center workshop. Rep. Aguilar joined students, immigration law experts and representatives of immigrant advocacy organizations, including Mi Familia Vota and Inland Congregations United for Change to discuss the immigration crisis and the plight of Dreamers.

“The significance of passing comprehensive immigration reform is anchored in the stories and lives of the students I spoke with last night. This is about showing compassion and creating opportunity by bringing hardworking people into the fold of the Inland Empire’s economy and community,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “We can’t give up on the American dream, and that starts by empowering young men and women like the students at San Bernardino Valley College with the ability to have a role in their community. This is about supporting families, not tearing them apart.”

Since he took office in January, Rep. Aguilar has made comprehensive immigration reform a top priority. He has been a champion of President Obama’s actions to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and to create a new program for guardians of American-born children – Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Rep. Aguilar was also a leading voice in the successful fight to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without attaching anti-immigration riders to the funding bill. Rep. Aguilar’s floor remarks on DHS funding can be viewed here. Most recently, Rep. Aguilar met with Ernesto and Dina Gudiño to discuss the immigration crisis. Ernesto and Dina qualify for DAPA. They have lived in Redlands for eighteen years and are raising their three young children in the community. David Olson of the Press-Enterprise covered the event, which can be read here.

 

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